“Yeah,” I say quietly.“We did.”
Her breath shivers out.
“And?”she asks.“Was it like that?”
I meet her eyes and I can’t lie.“No,” I say.“It was better.”
Her cheeks flush.“Then why?”
“Because you won’t remember this tomorrow,” I state.“Or you might.Or you might not.And I won’t let our next first kiss happen when you’re not whole.”
She steps closer again, voice small.“But I feel whole with you.”
The words hit me right in the ribs.
I reach out and brush a hand down her arm soft, slow, careful.
“I want this,” I whisper.“Don’t get it twisted.I want you more than I’ve wanted anything in a long damn time.”
Her lips part.
“But when we kiss again?”I step closer, lowering my forehead to hers.“It’ll be because you remember everything.Not because your body filled the blanks your mind couldn’t.”
Her breath hitches.“That’s not fair.”
“I know.”
“And you get to decide that?”
“No,” I say softly.“I get to choose how I handle you.And I won’t let myself break you again.”
She closes her eyes.For a moment, the world is just the two of us, breathing the same slow, painful rhythm.Then her voice cracks.
“What if I never remember?”
I cup her cheek, thumb brushing away a tear.“Then I’ll make you fall for me again.”
Her eyes snap open, stunned.
I mean it.Every damn word.
Before she can say anything, before I do something stupid like kiss her again, my phone buzzes violently in my pocket.I pull back, jaw tightening, and answer.
“Yeah?”
Mellow’s voice is sharp.“We got a sighting.”
My blood goes cold.“Where?”
“On the highway.Same build.Same movement pattern.Following the road toward the foxtrot house which is where I assume you took her.”
“Coming here?”I growl.
“Most likely.”
Rage floods me.
I look at Kelly.
